Lacing-strip.



No. 695.362. Patented Mar. II, I902.

0. A. ALBRECHT.

LAGING STRIP.

(Application filed. my 18, 1901.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED drains Arniv'r rrrcn.

OSCAR A. ALBRECHT, OF OMAHA, NEBRASKA, ASSIGNOR TO 0. A. ALBRECHT COMPANY, A CORPORATION, OF OMAHA, NEBRASKA.

IMAGING-STRIP.

ECIIEK ATl N forming part of Letters Patent No. 695,362, dated March 11 1902.

Application filed May l8,1901. Serial No. 60.904. (N specimens.)

To (all, whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OSCAR A. ALBRECHT, a citizen of theUnited States,residingatOmaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, have invented new and useful Improvements in Lacing- Strips for Shoes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in tipped lacing-strips and the method of producing the same.

The object of the present invention is the provision of a tipped lacing-strip designed for lacing shoes and other similar purposes, and one which is of such form as to materially reduce the cost of manufacturing the same;

and, furthermore, the invention aims to provide a shoe-lace tip which is so formed as to be su ftlciently hard for the purposes for which the same is designed as to be unaffected by wear, but sufliciently flexible or elastic to prevent breakage.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved process for manufacturing tips on lacing-strips so that the cost of pro- 2 5 ducing the same will be materially lessened.

\Vith these and other objects in View, which will appear as the nature of the improvements is better understood, the invention consists,substantially, in the novel form of tipped o lacing-strip and the process of producing the same, as will be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view 3 5 of the fabric from which the herein-described tipped lacing-strip is formed. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the fabric in the first step of the process. Fig. 3 is a view in elevation, illustrating the fabric shown in Fig. 2 aft-er being compressed. Fig. A is a similar View to Fig. 3, illustrating the fabric severed and the strips complete.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates a suitable fabric from which the 5 herein-described lacing is formed, said fabric being of the ordinary woven. material, and it will be here noted that after the fabric has been treated by the herein-described process the same forms two complete lacing-strips. It

will also be observed, however, that the fabric may be of considerable length and treated at different points throughout its length, according to the length of each strip, and when severed the fabric of such length constitutes a series of lacing-strips. This, however, is determined by the manufacturer.

To form the herein-described strip, the fabric is treated at a suitable point to a covering of powdered shellac 2 or any other gum which may be deemed desirable. The shellac or other gum is powdered and sifted over the portion of the fabric 1 to be treated, and after this has been done the fabric is pressed between two heated dies, whereby the shellac is melted and the fabric saturated therewith. After the fabric has been removed from the heated dies the saturated portion becomes hard, but brittle, and after this hardening of the shellac the fabric is next treated with boiled linseed-oil. This treatment may be effected by passing the fabric between two felt pads containing the oil, whence the fabric passes into a second set of dies, which are heated to such a degree as to effect softening of the shellac. In this latter step the treated portion of the fabric is compressed and shaped to form the tips of the strips, as shown at 3 in Fig. 3. The linseed-oil used as above described serves two purposes-to wit, it pri marily prevents the shellac or other gum from sticking to the dies, and, secondarily, but of greater importance, the shellac absorbs the oil, or, in other words, the dies effect an admixture of the oil and the shellac. As the formed tips pass from the dies the same have a smooth surface, but are hard and elastic, and in order to complete the tips it is necessary to japan the same or otherwise finish the tips according to the desires of the manufacturer. This finishing is preferably efieeted by immersing or covering the tips in dissolved celluloid; but it is obvious that any other form of finishing may be used. After finishing the tips the fabric is severed, as shown in Fig. 4, after which step tli strip is in its completed state.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The herein-described process of tipping a lacing, which consists in applying powdered gum to a strip of woven material, pressing and heating same, treating it with oil, and heating, compressing and shaping the same to form a tip.

2. The herein-described process of tipping a lacing, which consists in applying powdered gum to a strip of woven material, pressing and heating same, treating it with oil, and finishing the strip by coating the same.

3. The herein-described process of tipping a lacing, which consists in applying powdered gum to astrip of woven material, pressing between pads containing oil, and heating, compressing and shaping the same to form a tip.

4. The method of making tips on lacers, which consists in applying a fusible gum to a portion of the lacing, then simultaneously heating and pressing the gummed portion to incorporate the gum in the lacing, then applying oil to the gummed portion, and then simultaneouslyheating, and compressing the lacing to form'the tips.

5. The method of making tips on lacings, 

